Outdoors: MassWildlife survey details state's hunting habits

Monday

Mar 17, 2014 at 8:36 PMMar 18, 2014 at 12:20 AM

Who are the hunters in Massachusetts? MassWildlife is currently conducting an important survey to find out. Their 2012 survey was very telling.

In the Massachusetts hunting world, the whitetail is king. Not surprisingly, 86 percent of our commonwealth's hunters pursue deer in quest of venison and big antlers. Thirty-five percent, lured by the challenge of calling in a magnificent but wary strutting gobbler, hunt spring turkey. Thirty-one percent — many of them bird dog lovers — hunt pheasant. Twenty-one percent hunt fall turkey, 21 percent coyote, 15 percent ruffed grouse, 14 percent squirrel, 12 percent cottontail and 10 percent black bear. The data on other game pursued by less than 10 percent of our hunters was not shared, but you can bet that waterfowl and woodcock were in that category.

Much of what we hunt is dictated by availability. While it's tough to find an unoccupied, great spot to set up a great goose or duck blind, we have plenty of deer. As our bear population continues to expand, we can expect more local hunters to pursue them. Percentage changes are barometers of habitat and population changes. For example, my favorite game, before deer mesmerized me, had always been ruffed grouse. There's no game bird in the country that tastes better or affords greater sport for both a gun dog and a shooter. But as our suitable habitat began disappearing, ruffed grouse populations sadly diminished along with it.

Massachusetts has a great number of veteran hunters. Their average age was 50, and the average of years spent hunting was just over 28. Ideally, our experienced mentors will recruit more young hunters into our great tradition.

Massachusetts is a big bow hunting state with a disproportionately high number of very skilled shooters. Not surprisingly, 64 percent of all hunters participated during the archery season. Ninety percent of the bow hunters also hunted during the shotgun season.

Really surprising is the fact that 73 percent hunted during the primitive firearms season. More and more sportsmen are taking advantage of the extended black powder season. They're enthusiastically grasping the opportunity for more time in the field, and embracing the liberalization of regulations, which allow for weapons that are far easier to use and maintain than the difficult and often unreliable flintlocks. Fifty percent of our hunters took advantage of all three seasons.

Data confirm our suspicion that fewer hunters are getting out in the field. When I first began deer hunting, opening day drew out masses of hunters. Many would meet at early-opening diners for a pre-dawn breakfast, then park in big numbers along just about every road and highway where deer hunting was permissible. In 2012, the much-anticipated opening day of shotgun season was celebrated by only 50 percent of those surveyed. Work obligations have proven more inescapable in recent times. Unlike Pennsylvania, Massachusetts has never called off school for kids to experience the excitement of opening day.

As for hunting styles, 47 percent reported spending an equal amount of time sitting stationary versus walking and 41 percent were primarily stand hunters. Only 8 percent were exclusively walkers/stalkers. That's a huge change from my early years and indicative of some vanishing skills and the willingness to expend the extra energy.

I generally hunt deer alone or with my son, on the special occasions I have that privilege. I always hunt birds with my dog and a group of my best friends. Only 10 percent of firearms hunters reported they always hunt alone. 34 percent reported they hunt alone most of the time, 30 percent hunt with one other person, and 45 percent hunt generally with two or more hunters.

One valuable part of the survey asked hunters how many deer they observed in each zone during each season. In Central Mass.' Zone 9, hunters reported seeing an average of about nine deer during the entire archery season, seven during shotgun and six during primitive firearms. That's a far cry from what's seen in Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.

Zone 14 hunters in Nantucket averaged 17 sightings during archery, 19 during shotgun and 22 during primitive. Not far behind were Martha's Vineyard hunters, who averaged 14 deer during archery, 17 during shotgun and 14 during primitive. In the rest of the state, archers typically saw the most deer. That may be because archers are quieter, more skilled hunters — or deer just haven't been scared enough by gun shots to go into hiding more often.

For those of us unwilling or unable to spend $10,000 or more for an out-of-state moose hunt, the expansion of our local moose population is proving very hopeful. Survey respondents reported seeing moose in all zones other than our east-of-Interstate 495 areas. By far, the greatest numbers reported were in Zone 6 around the Quabbin Reservoir. Further population expansion may warrant a future limited hunt, if only to minimize fatal vehicle collisions. MassWildlife and Massachusetts hunters can benefit by more sportsmen participating in this research. Go to MassFishHunt on the MassWildlife website www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dfw and enter your email address to contribute to next year's survey.

Contact Mark Blazis at markblazis@charter.net.

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